


484. Found myself walking down your street

by SevlinRipley



Category: It - All Media Types
Genre: Action/Adventure, Alternate Universe - Doctor Who Fusion, Lap-sitting, M/M, Pre-Slash, Saving the World
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-18
Updated: 2018-06-18
Packaged: 2019-05-24 18:02:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,066
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14959409
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SevlinRipley/pseuds/SevlinRipley
Summary: Eddie's on his way to lock his limo up in the garage for the night when someone hops into his back seat and tells him to drive, drive, drive! Or die.





	484. Found myself walking down your street

The street lamps are casting light as per usual, but for some reason the glow is more purple than orange, more cool than warm, subconsciously making Eddie's shoulders go tight beneath his suit jacket and dress shirt. He's attributing the tension with a long day's work, driving through heavy traffic, streets closed off for civic reconstruction, with celebrities and their handlers getting antsy in his back seat, wondering if they were going to make it to their interviews and sets on time. The wheel is clutched tight in his gloved hands, as he stares up at the red light overhead.

It's been red for so long now, keeping him from turning left.

Much too long, Eddie thinks, aggravated and tired, the crows feet at his eyes deeper set than usual. He's contemplating running it, since he's the only one on the streets. But he imagines a semi barrelling through from out of nowhere, and forces himself to sit back in his seat to wait a little longer before he'll back up and get in the right turn lane - take the long way around.

He jumps and then goes stiff all at once, hands clutching that much tighter to the steering wheel, when Eddie hears a door at the back open and then slam shut. He knows they were locked. Locked locked locked, always locked, Eddie was steadfast about keeping as safe in this dangerous city as he could. Even though a small part of him dared anyone attempt to high-jack him. He got a permit to carry within a few short months after the bank approved a loan for his business.

The firearm rests in a locked case in his glove compartment when he's on duty. The key is on a detachable ring connected to his main key ring, hanging close to the ignition. At the very least, the partition is up, so he has brief moments to shake of the paralysis of fear, and get it out and pointed at the partition.

Freezing, he wonders if it'd be more responsible just to leave the car, right where it is. Put it in park and flee. Then the partition is lowering and Eddie had that locked too, didn't he? Always, after dropping off the client, until he picked up the next. And a weird buzzing noise seems to be coming through the more it lowers.

Eddie swallows thickly, glancing up into the rear-view mirror. A man with wild hair is there, wearing glasses with thicker frames than Eddie's own, and that's about all Eddie can see of him, aside from his stark, somehow moonlight-blue eyes. "What do you want?" Eddie asks low, voice on gravel as he tries to sound more brave than he feels, but also meek enough to be let free if he cooperates long enough.

In the answering silence, Eddie feels the same flare of daring lick up at him. Thinking to turn and grab whatever it is that man is holding, that thing Eddie can sense is close to his ear. It must be a gun, but then what was making that odd, high-pitched ringing sound as the partition was lowering? Maybe it was the sound of a switchblade? A ... high-tech one?

"Sorry, what was that?" a voice asks, behind Eddie's ear, sounding far-off for just a syllable before coming close again. It's a softer, lighter voice than he was expecting. "Oh, hey I need to you to drive now. It's - oh, yes - it's coming. Drive." Eddie's face twitches through several emotions.

Confusion, mostly, and then slight anger at being commanded, and then back to humble fear when a hand clasps his shoulder _hard_ , and the voice behind him sounds war-faring now as he once again says, " _Drive if you don't want to die!_ "

The the light turned green, finally, switched as if by magic after being stuck for so long, Eddie doesn't notice. He just steps on the pedal, without looking to either side, and drives straight forward, then swerves to avoid a median, staying on the correct side of the road, at least, as his engine revs below the hood.

Limos aren't made for car chases, but Eddie does know the limits of his cars, and he _knows_ how to drive. The only problem is that he doesn't have the foggiest idea about what's supposedly chasing them, because there's nothing in the side mirrors, or the rear-view, _and_ on top of that... the thing _he's_ feeling in danger of is sitting in the car with him.

Stranger still, as Eddie gets the limo moving, the hand loosens its hold on his shoulder, and then the thumb digs into the meat of his shoulder like it's saying, 'Well done.'

Clearing his throat, Eddie dares to speak again, as he senses the man behind him looking around, restlessly searching as his hand falls away from Eddie completely. "What - what exactly is happening right now?" He wants to point out that he doesn't even know where he's meant to be driving to, and the idiot behind him should speak up soon if he doesn't want Eddie to drive right to a police station. Obviously he doesn't, because it's not very wise to threaten a car thief...

Maybe it's PCP, Eddie realizes, as the man folds his arms up on the partition resting his chin on his arms like he's having a gay old time, relaxing as Eddie runs through several lights over without noticing the green hue to each and every one.

"Just keep driving; you're doing great!" It's a light voice again, sounding genuinely pleased. Proud, even, that Eddie is listening to him.

So maybe just a power trip, then.

Eddie doesn't take kindly to that, and stops at the next light _despite_ its green tone. " _No_! Tell me where we're fucking going before I get us in a wreck! And you better have a weapon or get the _fuck_ out of my car."

Before Eddie can fully gasp, the man is leaning forward, one hand braced on Eddie's shoulder, while the other points a long, thin, cylindrical _thing_ at the pedal being neglected by his foot, and then Eddie's foot is being propelled up by the other pedal, break coming undone as that same buzzing sound goes off twice and the car's moving forward on its own, a soft blue light shining over Eddie's slacks.

"I _said_ 'drive!' Do you want to get turned into goop?" Eddie can only balk at the question, jaw dropping as he takes in the high cheek bones, faint wrinkles, and smattering of freckles. The man's even wearing a paisley ascot tucked around his neck, resting at the lapels of his maroon-colored blazer.

"No? Didn't think so! It's on the roof, but don't worry! Once we crash into the bay, it'll leave. Hates water. Absolutely disgusted by the stuff. Who knows why it chose Earth of all places," the man starts rambling, "But here we are, as per usual. Always picking on the humans, _aren't we_?" He's shouting at the roof with the last couple of sentences, and then Eddie's surprised to hear a clopping on his roof. Amazed that maybe, just maybe, this man isn't stark-raving mad, because there actually _is_ something up there.

Then as Eddie starts worrying over dents in his roof, several other things catch up with him all at once. " _Crash?!_ Into the _bay_!?" Eddie's shrieking, because _fuck no_ , not _his_ limo! And why did he say 'humans' that way? Never mind that the man is chuckling behind him and merrily patting him on the shoulder even as he climbs through and into the passenger seat, orange slacks stretching over knobbly knees, and brown suede loafers with tassels falling to the floor below.

"Exactly!" the man shouts, throwing his arms toward the approaching bay, and Eddie really isn't even capable of processing the fact that he's not even steering his own car anymore.

Myra's going to lose her mind if Eddie wrecks the car. She's going to go berserk and insist they move out to the country and never touch anything with an engine again. And if he drowns? There goes water for her, too. She'll be in a mental ward in no time.

"Wait, wait, wait!" Eddie's crying, stomping on the break, mind flickering to the idea of bailing, but for some reason he considers the idea that he needs to be covered in water so as not to get murdered if _somehow_ this guy isn't totally bullshitting him. Like he absolutely must be. Apart from the answering screeches sounding from above them, and the sound of metal being torn by something like claws or hooks or talons.

A hand around his wrist stops him from prepping the window, rolling them down so they can just swing out and into the water before the car fully starts sinking. And when that hand doesn't stop Eddie, who's crawling up onto the seat to get closer to the window still, an arm loops around his waist and pulls him back to chest, while his wrist gets pinned to his thigh. "Hold on now; everything's okay," the man says, voice calm, bordering on amused. "You're not going to die. We let the car go into the water, sink down a ways. We've got our air. Then we'll take a great big breath as it realizes where we've landed and flies off home for the evening. I'll sonic the windows out, and we'll swim up to the surface. _Okay?_ "

Elbowing him in the ribs, Eddie glowers and says, "Don't patronize me! And let _go_."

"Only if you promise to behave. I didn't get in this car to save your life to have you go and get yourself killed, anyway, now did I?"

Eddie rolls his eyes, but says, "Yes, fine." But, "What do you mean 'sonic' - is that some kind of window punch brand?" Eddie has his own, and as the man lets go of him, he drops the glove box open onto the man's knees and digs through titles, insurance cards, and around his gun, to find the little gold rod.

"Hey! You know, they kind of _do_ look alike," the man says, grabbing the punch from Eddie's hand to turn it around and give it a good look. But then he holds up his - one - with the blue light on it, and taps at the tip. "But see, this is what makes all the difference. Mine's a screwdriver, not a punch." He's smiling wide, handing Eddie's punch back like it's nothing, even though Eddie's half-convinced himself that they're about to die because this person thinks he can open a window under water with a LED screwdriver, and Eddie hates himself just a little bit for not jumping out of the car the second he heard his backdoor open.

Then the metal of his roof gets shredded one more time (an act of desperation, he guesses) before the man's hands are on his hips one more time, quickly drawing the seat belt around them both before the almost-black waters come toward the windshield and Eddie's pressing his eyes closed and is trying not to scream even though there's no reason to be embarrassed if this is the end of him.

After the initial jarring impact, the rushing water resisting against the limo, eventually it begins sucking them up, and it almost feels like how Eddie'd imagine falling through a wormhole. Intense, but slow, a greater power surrounding him and his inconsequential self. It's peaceful, almost. And Eddie's in awe enough to be relaxing into the man's lap despite himself and somewhere in the back of his mind he feels validated that if he _does_ die today it was somehow with a man wrapped around him. The man's arm is braced around his hips, the other around his chest, holding him close still. Needlessly keeping him in place until the car comes to a still.

"You okay?" the man asks, thumbing at Eddie's shoulder like he needs to comfort him even though Eddie's fine. Or. Maybe Eddie's in shock, a little; he's really not sure anymore.

"This is incredible..." Eddie says, hushed, eyebrows up and eyes wide, a soft tinge of a smile to his mouth.

The man's chest vibrates against Eddie's back slightly, as he chuckles, pleased. "It is, isn't it? And you wanted to get out before you got the chance to experience this."

He's not wrong, for calling Eddie out. Although Eddie's certain that if he lives his back and neck will give him hell tomorrow. And then the insurance company. And Myra. And... the beauty of the moment starts to seep away as the car slows, and the water stops moving around them.

The man must feel disappointment suddenly radiating off of him because he says softly, "If you thought this was fun, I can show you more. Once we take care of the clan, get them to stop gooping up humans for their nests... I can show you so much more." Almost like he could read Eddie's mind. The crushing, sinking feeling of making it back to the reality of his life after all. " _And_ ," the man says, voice starting to sound braggarty again, "My mode of transportation is _much_ cooler."

Eddie doesn't even know what the hell he's talking about, but feels himself start to nod. The seat belt buckle is undone, and it's sliding up across his chest, and he takes in a great breath, too caught up in wondering, daydreaming, to realize that the man's still holding him around his front, close, mouth near his ear as he says, "Ready for the next part of our adventure? It's gonna happen quick. Once the window shatters, the water's coming in."

More than it's already started seeping through the roof, where the metal had been gashed and torn.

Eyes flashing with recognition, he starts to move away, to allow the man access to whichever window, without getting shards everywhere. But he's held, still, and then the sonic screwdriver is being pointed at Eddie's window.

"Take a deep breath," the man says soft, but commanding to break through any residual conflict Eddie might be warring with inside. Eddie does, at the same time as the man does. And then the high-pitch ringing is back and he's closing his eyes against the shattering glass before he hears the water rushing in, and is being pushed forward.

It's so dark that Eddie almost doesn't know where to go once he's outside of his car, punch long since dropped to the floor of his sunken limo. Everything left behind... He didn't think to grab anything. Then a hand is grabbing his and showing him up was the way he thought it might be. And he makes a break for the surface.

They both come up gasping, treading the water tiredly. Eddie's glasses nearly didn't make the trek up with him, but he managed to keep them on with forward motion. Once the water finishes cascading down his eyes, he looks around to see if there're any dangers around. None that he can tell. So whatever was on his roof was probably gone. Just like he'd been told would happen.

Tossing a glance over his shoulder, he sees the man, hair clinging, drenched, to the sides of his face, own glasses still atop the bridge of his nose, looking around too. "Are we safe," Eddie asks, water spraying out from between his lips as it falls down his face.

" _Oh yeah_ ," the man says, smiling wide, tone like he never doubted for a minute they would be. Eddie rolls his eyes, and bites his lip to hold back an amused smile.

 

When they're out, having pulled themselves up onto the pavement after finding a dip of a walkway leading toward the bay, Eddie realizes how absolutely freezing cold he is, shivering right along with the man who suddenly seems more distant now that they're out of danger. The cold helps numb the pull in Eddie's chest. The ache there that he doesn't understand because this whole night must be some kind of insane hallucination.

Why does he feel so disappointed that the man seems to be so intently focused on pouring water out of his shoes and wringing his socks instead of focusing on Eddie and hovering too-close? Like the words he'd spouted in the car might suggest he would be. Blank promises, maybe. Encouragement to get Eddie out of the water safely.

Then, rejection tittering at the edges of his mind, Eddie feels emboldened to narrow his eyes and ask, perhaps too-coldly, "Who are you?" He doesn't exactly have proof, yet, that whatever was happening to his car was done by a creature, or that this man even cared about him at all.

It's definitely the tone that catches the man's interest again. Lights a fire in his amused eyes as he looks up with a smirk. He affixes his ascot once more as he tells Eddie, "Well, I go by the Doctor, but this re-gen I tend to get annoyed when people ask questions about that, so I've decided to go by Richie. For now. And you are?"

"Eddie," Eddie says, brows knitted together. He decides to let the 'Doctor' thing go, as curious as he is. "What did you mean 'nests'?"

Something brilliant flashes across Richie's face at that question. So fast, and warm and intense that Eddie feels like he's seen a piece of the sun get soaked up into the body standing in front of him. "You want to find out?" Richie asks, voice playful, but there's a sincere, _genuine_ and heart-felt eagerness about his voice that Eddie can't help but melt, and offer him a soft smile. Like Richie was a kid who just wanted someone to play with.

Eddie shrugs, "My business just sunk into the bay. What else have I got to do?" His heart is racing, and there's something about the way Richie smiles at him next, and it's like he can read Eddie's mind all over again.

As Richie sweeps Eddie up under his arm, he presses a kiss to Eddie's temple like they're old friends and says, far too chipper, "I think I like you already, Eds. Can't wait to show you 'round town."

And Richie, as it turns out, does not mean New York City. Or even Earth, for that matter.

**Author's Note:**

> Title from "Ghost of Mine" by Kailee Morgue


End file.
